


When the last day comes

by Resamille



Series: VLD Whump Week 2017 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Hypothermia, So. Oops. Kinda canon compliant but we ignore canon like men in this house anyway, Team as Family, This was supposed to be S3 compliant but then I forgot Shiro isn't flying Black anymore, Voltron Whump Week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 15:49:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11809185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resamille/pseuds/Resamille
Summary: Like this, with the castle covered in the crisp air of frost, it's beautiful.





	When the last day comes

**Author's Note:**

> more incoherent screeching
> 
> For Voltron Whump Week 2017 Day 2. The prompt is Hypothermia.
> 
> Title from Willow by Jasmine Thompson.
> 
> Fair warning I wrote this is like 2 hours and did 0 research so I'm not sure how accurate to the prompt it actually falls. Welp. RIP in piss me I guess.

Like this, with the castle covered in the crisp air of frost, it's beautiful.

The paladins brought life into the Caslte of Lions, but they never quite managed to return it to its previous grandeur. But now, with the moisture in the air slowly crystallizing against the castle's metal walls, the beauty of its architecture is coupled with sparkling elegance. If Allura weren't so cold, she might have gone through the halls, wandered until her feet were sore, just to see her home in the closest state its been to the elegance she remembers.

She recalls the old celebrations of Altea—all stunning dresses and elaborate armor. As a child, Allura very distantly remembers watching her parents get ready for such events: how her mother would smile sweetly as she slipped on gorgeous fabric that was softer than even Allura's baby blankets, and how her father's paladin armor would shine gold, cape billowing behind him. Looking at them, looking at them _together_ , Allura wasn't sure who she wanted to be more. Her mother, in all her beauty, or her father in all his fierceness?

She muses now, if she has managed both. Certainly Lance seems to think so, she supposes. And maybe Shiro. Keith doesn't seem to like her much, but they've been getting better. Hunk's a sweetheart, really. Pidge? Huh, she wonders what Pidge thinks of her.

It's a silly thought—contemplating any chances of relationship with any of the paladins, as if they'd court her. Coran would be against it, anyway, because there's no way they know the old rules of Altea's engagements. But Allura would be fine with any tradition of courtship, honestly, if only for the lighthearted fun of it. Besides, Altea is gone now...

Allura pulls her blanket closer to her body, trying to huddle into the warmth as much as possible. It's not enough to fend off the chill.

The castle is dying. The paladins are off trying to find replacement parts, though it seems to be such a long shot that Allura doesn't have much hope. Coran took a ship to see if he can barter with the closest market. Allura doubts he'd have enough fuel to get back to the castle afterward, though. She had opted to stay behind and try to run damage control. Turns out there's very little she can actually do.

And now she's slowly freezing.

Without power, the castle has nothing to sustain it, and the void of space is slowly invading, leaving its mark of ice along the walls. Something Pidge said once pops into her head, a retelling of some story or lore of pirates on Earth: _the captain goes does with his ship_.

She had thought it so silly at the time. It's not the ship, she had said. It's the people still on it. And yet, here she is, following some silly earth tradition and dying alongside her home, and she can't bring herself to find the irony in it. How can she be bitter, patronizing, when this is her _home_? All she has left of all Altea, and all that is left of her dying with it. What more fitting of an end.

She understands now, she thinks. Lance had said there was honor in it, and she supposes she does understand that much. But that's not why she's here. She's here because this is where love is. This is where she was raised and cared for, and when she lost her family, this is where she found a new one composed of five earthlings.

There's a rustle of movement near Allura's stomach, under the blanket, and a small squeak. She doesn't open the blanket to look at the mice because she doesn't want to let the cold air in, but that doesn't stop her from speaking to them.

“You should have gone with Coran,” she tells them, except that her lips are numb, and her words slur together.

The mice squeak at her. Plachu is the loudest, chirps high-pitched and angry, mad at her for staying here, too.

“I didn't want to give up,” Allura manages. “I know, I know...”

Allura can see her breath when she breathes, and part of her marvels at it for a moment. There is beauty in pain, in death, in an odd way. There is beauty in loss, in recovery. She has a feeling there will be no recovery from this.

All systems down. She has no way of contacting the paladins. The cyro- and healing pods are down. She can't really feel her fingers anymore, even though they're clutched tightly in the blanket around her.

The castle looks so pretty.

The mice shuffle helplessly in her lap, curling against each other for some hope of warmth. Even they've stopped chittering to each other now.

Allura blinks, slow. Her father's memory dances behind her eyelids, adorned in white and gold and the glory of king and paladin.

Another blink. Her breath fans out in front of her. Everything has a tint of white around the edges, decorated in frost.

She takes a deep breath, cold chilling her core and hurting her throat. She closes her eyes against the sting of pain.

This time, she doesn't open them.

 

“Allura,” says a voice.

“Father...” Allura murmurs, and leans closer to the nearest heat source.

“Well, I mean, I would definitely call Hunk 'Daddy,' not gonna lie.”

“ _Lance_.”

“Pidge could you grab another piece of wood?”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.” Then, whispered. “God, I _love_ fire.”

“Maybe you should be the red paladin.”

“Lance, Red is my lion.”

“I'm just saying... You like nature and Pidge doesn't, and Pidge is basically a pyromaniac.”

“Only at heart.”

“Hey, hey, guys, shush. Allura's waking up.”

“Only barely,” Allura manages. She doesn't open her eyes, but firelight dances through her eyelids, a flickering light and comfort.

“How are you doing?” Shiro asks.

“Much warmer,” Allura answers. “Where's the castle?”

“Where we left it, unfortunately,” Shiro says. “We came back empty handed and found you almost frozen to death.”

“Good thing you found me,” Allura replies. Hunk rubs a hand over her shoulder, soothing. “Where are my mice?”

“Keith has them,” Hunk says.

“I hate this,” Keith says instantly. “Their claws keep poking me.”

Allura forces her eyes open at that, curious. Squinting at Keith from across the circle around the fire, she can't see the mice with him. But then there's movement under his shirt, a soft squeak, and Keith's face contorts into some sort of disgruntled cringe.

She finds herself giggling.

“Oh, nonono,” Hunk murmurs. “Allura, Princess, stay with us...”

Allura weakly waves her hand at him. “'M fine,” she manages, and coughs.

“Here,” Lance says, and offers her a water pouch.

Allura takes it gratefully, sipping carefully. She has to remind herself that the cool of the water isn't the bite of ice. About half-way through the pouch and the silence, she feels her shoulders slump. “Without the castle, we won't be able to wormhole.”

“We'll get it fixed,” Pidge says, certain. “I have a lead on some materials that can act as substitutes. While they might not be the best quality, it would be enough to get the castle running again so we have more time to get the right stuff.”

“If absolutely needed, we can wormhole with the lions,” Lance says.

“We'll get it back,” Shiro tells her, shoulder brushing hers.

Allura looks at him, and he smiles, soft and kind.

“Coran?” she asks instead of doing something silly, like crying because she's overwhelmed with how much they all mean to her.

“Still at the market,” Keith says. “We've been in touch.”

“We'll get through this,” Hunk affirms, squeezing Allura closer to him in a gentle hug. “We're just happy you're okay. That was really scary.”

“Yes,” whispers Allura. “I suppose it was.”

“We always work it out,” Lance says, aiming finger guns at Allura. “This time isn't any different.”

Allura gives him a soft smile, and Lance's face lights up in return. “You're right,” she says. “We always pull through. And the castle will too.”

She just hopes it has some time to defrost before they all return. Allura isn't looking forward to spending another night with the chill carved into her bones. Someone will have to go in while it's still frozen to replace the parts, but that's an issue for another day.

For now, it's peaceful, and it's safe, and Allura is inexplicably happy, surrounded by this odd little family of hers. It's full of laughter and kindness, and... Even without the fire, it's warm.

 


End file.
